The World’s a Circus | Nikola Danaylov Keynote at St. John’s Circus Fest 2025
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
What if the world isn’t just a stage… but a circus? 🎪
In this opening keynote at St. John’s International Circus Fest 2025, futurist and philosopher Nikola Danaylov (aka Socrates) explores why context is more powerful than content — and why those who create context don’t just win attention, they shape the future.
👉 Themes you’ll hear in this talk:
Content vs. Context — why meaning, not information, defines value.
STEAM over STEM — reuniting science with the arts and humanities.
AI & Human Flourishing — why technology is the how, not the why.
The Circus Metaphor — resilience, artistry, and transformation as lenses for our times.
From Performer to Context Creator — how we can reframe the future together.
📍 Recorded live at The Well Room, St. John’s, NL on September 19, 2025.
The World’s a Circus but We’re Not Just Performers, We’re Context Creators!
In an age of AI-generated content, infinite data, and algorithmic noise, what truly sets us apart as human beings? In this powerful, playful, and thought-provoking keynote, futurist and bestselling author Nikola Danaylov argues that the answer is not more content — but better context. Through storytelling, neuroscience, history, and circus arts, Nikola reveals how context is the invisible force that shapes perception, meaning, and ultimately, the future.
Drawing on everything from Renaissance humanism and McLuhan’s media theory to personal stories and plastic horse heads, this keynote challenges the myth that “content is king.” Instead, Nikola shows why meaning — not data — is our greatest asset. And circus? It’s not just performance. It’s a living metaphor for risk, awe, vulnerability, and transformation. You’ll walk away seeing circus, and your own work, not as entertainment or output, but as a vehicle for reframing reality itself. Because when you change the context, you change the story. And when you change the story… you change the future.
A heartfelt thank-you to Braeden King of There Media and Alick Tsui Pictures for capturing such fantastic event photography.
